A person is not bitter or mean when they obey God in forgiving when someone is repentant, or withholding forgiveness from someone who doesn't even care if they have it.
We are not bitter or angry because we say no to someone who is demanding something from us unreasonably. Assigning ill-will to those who rationally and reasonably assert their option to do things God's way, just because the culture doesn't understand it, is manipulation to shame those who hold people accountable for their actions and remove them from their lives because they are destructive to ourselves and others.
We have moved into the mentality as a culture that coddles the perpetrator while pressuring and judging the one who follows God's directions for our conduct.
Luke 17:3-4 "…3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Notice, "if they come and say I repent", then forgive him. And, "if your brother sins, rebuke him", why do so many people ignore these words right in the text?
First rebuke your brother, he repents, and then we forgive. This is the proper order. There is a purpose in this, and it is to keep people accountable and give them incentives to change their behavior.
Because the culture has left out the step that requires someone to be sorry and confess what they did, the culture has become callous toward the victim, claiming they are the mean ones when they don't want to have anything to do with those who harm others and refuse to be sorry or stop their evil behavior.
This mentality of perp coddling has permeated our culture to such a degree that it is rampantly common without rational thinking. Satan loves this; the culture beats up on the innocent victim while pampering the wicked one who does the evil deed.
I can't think of anything more insidious and demonic than this, turning upside down and opposite the principles of God to indulge the arrogance of the one who causes trouble and creates mayhem.
May born-again believers stop listening to those who are steeped in cultural thinking and begin reading every word in the Scriptures within their context. And, deliberately reject any thinking that does not match God's Word.
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